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Weird Game Pricings

….it never works out 1 to 1 does it?

Here in the UK we are used to getting slightly ripped off for new game prices – especially in the digital space. When a digital only game releases over here and it’s going to be $20 that usually equates to an almost guarantee that it will be £15 or £15.99 on the UK store. Sometimes though, things happen that go a step further into the bizarre.

One of these times happened yesterday with the release of Ready At Dawn’s new game Deformers. As you know I have been banging on about this game a bit recently after playing through the beta’s and having a whale of a time but due to my PC not being the greatest I was holding out for the PS4 version.

What I saw though, baffled me no end. The game is $30 in the USA, so I instantly thought “£24.99” – bang on! Has to be! Right? WRONG! It was £34.99! £34.99! As of today’s conversion rate $30 equates to £23.41 so where does that extra £11.58 come from? It certainly isn’t tax or VAT – it’s far to much, and that only answers half the question.

On the PS4 store it is £34.99

On the Xbox One store it is £29.99

And on Steam it is £29.99

So my question here is – how in the blue hell is this worked out? In the UK we are not totally un-used to paying a literal conversion where game developers replace the dollar sign with a pound sign and be done with it. That’s not the problem here though. If they are going to charge £29.99 for two versions of the game on two seperate platforms – why are PlayStation users paying an extra £5 for the same game, same content, same everything! But only in the UK…it seems to be $29.99 across the board in the USA! We need answers on this GameTrust or Ready at Dawn, whoever is responsible!

I have reached out to both companies seeking and explanation but as of yet have had no response. If I do receive one I will update this post with it – hopefully they come out and clarify this mess.

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6 thoughts on “Weird Game Pricings”

Tobold has raged about this for years, trying to apply logic to something he doesn’t understand. What a game costs in the US has no bearing on what one will pay for it elsewhere. All that matters is what the generally accepted price for a given type/quality of such a game is in a given market.

No company ever says, “Okay, the US price is $60, let’s get out our exchange rate calculator to set the prices in other countries.” Somebody just looks at what comparable games charge for in a given market and go with that.

There are often deeper elements involved as well. You may pay more because your taxation scheme is different. The US price, for example, is pretty much pre-tax (where I live you can 8.25% to the retail price) while the UK price has already been through the VAT wringer. So your price comparison may not even be appropriate.

But, in my experience with retail software over the years, prices are generally based on what the going price is for a comparable item in that particular market. That game is 30 pounds because games like that sell for 30 pounds and that is all the logic and fairness that you get.

I understand what you mean, but for years (like 10+ at this point) a $60 will be between £40-45 in the UK (usually can be found for a pound or two cheaper around various websites) where as it almost always works out on digital store fronts as $30 will be £25, $20 will be £15.99 and $15 will be £11.99.

The point still stands, why is the PS4 version £5 dearer? This has never happened pre-switch (which seems to carry an additional price for it’s ports of 3Rd party titles). Especially when it’s the same price across the board in the US.